"If we turn not to things external and material, the first thing of all to secure is to save unfortunate working people from the cruelty of men of greed, who use human beings as mere instruments for money-making." 

See for Yourself - I overheard an interesting exchange by some students working on a group project the other day.

The Somali family of 11 arrived to us on a Friday afternoon in early April. We watched in wonder as person after person climbed out of the hefty Catholic Charities van amid grocery bags and beat-up suitcases. Peering into their bright eyes as we welcomed them, I knew that something beautiful and unforgettable was happening.

"The red blossoms take center stage to announce spring. What in our lives announces new life?"

From A Nun's Life podcasts - Living in a community of faith "calls us forth to acts of kindness and acts of love that make forgiveness possible, of ourselves and of others," Sr. Bonita Gacnik of the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery in South Dakota.

How does a girl growing up as a gymnast and cheerleader in northern California end up as a Benedictine nun who splits her time between a convent in Dinklage, Germany, and another in Connemara, Ireland? 

On this day when we celebrate mothers, I found myself thinking about my relationship with my mother, and how my experience with her, during her final months, profoundly affected my religious beliefs.

Pleiku City, Vietnam - The homes run by Filles de la Médaille Miraculeuse nuns provide children health care and education, along with opportunities to learn from each other's ethnic traditions. Once grown, the orphans take those skills into their communities.

"Refounding is not easy: it was never meant to be. And yet it is a possibility for all of us, no matter how stuck we may feel. But it does require a risky, daring sense of openness and a willingness to embrace daunting new horizons of creativity and experiment."

Series review: "The Handmaid's Tale," a new series streaming on Hulu, is about personhood, identity, freedom and abuse of power in bleak dystopian tale set in a Christian theocracy of the not too distant future.